Richard Sterling (born in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, California, with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum- and apple-growing region. Wine grapes are the predominant a ...

, 3 April 1953) is a travel, food and lifestyle journalist, as well as one of the foremost practitioners of the "literature of gusto". Originally from Northern California, he spent many years as a sailor, an engineer, and a diarist before becoming a journalist.

Early life

Sterling is of mixed British and German ancestry. He spent his childhood in the forested areas of Northern California where his family made a living in the timber industry. After the timber industry collapsed the family moved in several places in California. At age 18 he graduated at Vallejo High School. After a brief experience as

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

and quarryman he joined the U.S. Navy, where he spent seven years, mainly in South East Asia.

Literary career

He is a pioneer of culinary literature in English. He was encouraged in this by correspondence with the writer M. F. K. Fisher, to whom he dedicated his first book, ''Dining with Headhunters:Jungle Feasts and Other Culinary Adventures''. The author of more than a dozen books, Sterling has been honored by the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

for his food writing, and he holds the Lowell Thomas Award and the ForeWord Award for travel literature. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' book page dubbed him "Indiana Jones of

Gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

" for his willingness to "go anywhere and court any danger" for the sake of a good meal and a good story. He is also the principal author of

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

's award-winning World Food series. He has appeared many times on TV and radio in USA, Europe, Australia, and Vietnam. He resides in Cambodia. Prior to that he lived and wrote in Vietnam, where his food and drink column "Sterling's Saigon" appeared monthly in ''Asia Life'' magazine for 48 months.

Selected bibliography

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External links

Personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Richard Living people American columnists American food writers American travel writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from California 1953 births People from Sebastopol, California